Hopewell family opens hearts and home to children in need of healing

A two-year-old boy from the Dominican Republic came to the United States last year with a disfiguring lesion on the left side of his face.

Joel Delarosa will undergo the first of possibly three to four life-changing surgeries Tuesday to remove the rare lymphatic malformation at the Manhattan-based Roosevelt Hospital.

The care is not the only thing he has received.

The boy’s journey was paved by the generosity of a local family, who welcomed him into their house; a nonprofit, which helped bring him to the United States; and doctors who will perform the surgery pro bono.

Delarosa is the second boy from the nonprofit Healing the Children, that Steven and Shannon Tuorto have taken into their Hopewell Township home during the children’s treatment.

Steven Tuorto, 36, a marine scientist at Rutgers University, said he was introduced to the nonprofit, which is dedicated to giving children around the world access to medical care, by his sister approximately 18 years ago.

“She brought in a burn victim child who had extensive surgeries over the course of 15 years or so,” Tuorto said.

Tuorto was then given the chance to help out when his other sister brought a child into her home and couldn’t finish the task.

“I offered to take over for her,” Tuorto said. “Once you’re in, it becomes something you do if you can.”

That extensive burn victim started coming to the Unites States for treatment when he was nine years old and continued coming until his treatment was completed a couple years ago when he was 19, Tuorto said.

Dr. Alejandro Berenstein, the man who is performing the procedure on Delarosa, is an interventional neuro-radiologist who has pioneered the treatment for lymphatic malformations. His technique prevents the need for disfiguring surgery or damage to nerves.

Berenstein, who has worked at Roosevelt since 2004, said he has performed several hundred surgeries on the rare condition. He was able to obtain free services for the young patient.

“We felt bad about this poor kid and obviously, being from the Dominican Republic, there’s no way they could afford U.S. healthcare,” said the doctor who has performed this operation for 33 years. “The hospital was generous enough to agree to do this pro bono and we were able to convince the other doctors to help this kid.”

Berenstein said the surgery is low risk and involves a minimally invasive technique. He added the surgery will last for two hours and the child is going to need three to four procedures at six week internals to get the deserved effect.

When Delarosa joined the Hopewell Township household in mid-August, he was welcomed by the family’s two daughters, Payton, 8, and Sydney, 10.

“They grew up with it,” Tuorto said, noting his daughters were both born around the time the family hosted its first child. “My oldest became pretty motherly with Joel very quickly and is really good to him and my younger one is sort of the proverbial sibling with him.”

The father said his family gains a big benefit from hosting Delarosa.

“Our girls are growing up knowing how to help (others) and knowing it’s just not all about us and learning to accept other people,” Tuorto said. “It’s a huge experience.”

Tuorto said the two-year-old boy attends the Princeton Montessori School where his wife, Shannon, teaches.

Like many others who have shown their kindness to Delarosa, the school is allowing him to attend for free.

Saying goodbye to the kids has proven to be very difficult, Tuorto said.

“That’s probably the hardest part about being a host parent is they settle in and become part of the family, but then eventually they have to leave,” Tuorto said.

For information about becoming a host parent for Healing the Children contact (973) 949-5034.